Nationwide polls spell trouble for Republicans.But control of the House and the Senate will
depend on local voting. We look at some close races around the country. How
important is the war in Iraq?
Are candidates addressing the issues voters want to hear about most?Can President Bush still make a difference? Plus, a Virginia
sheriff and 18 deputies are indicted for selling confiscated guns and drugs, and
Starbucks is accused of blocking Ethiopia’s bid to trademark coffee.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Nationwide polls spell trouble for Republicans.But control of the House and the Senate will
depend on local voting. We look at some close races around the country. How
important is the war in Iraq?
Are candidates addressing the issues voters want to hear about most?Can President Bush still make a difference? Plus, a Virginia
sheriff and 18 deputies are indicted for selling confiscated guns and drugs, and
Starbucks is accused of blocking Ethiopia’s bid to trademark coffee.

Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, applied to trademark three of its most famous varieties. After a protest by the National Coffee Association, the US Trademark and Patent Office denied the request. Starbucks, an Association member, advertises its good relationship with suppliers. With estimated revenues of $80 billion a year, coffee is the world's most valuable trading commodity after oil, according to Oxfam, which says that multinational companies are ripping off farmers in poor countries. The British charity claims Starbucks was behind the trademark denial.

Absentee ballots already are being cast, but most voting won't happen until Tuesday. With less than a week before the mid-term elections, the war in Iraq means big trouble for Republicans, according to nationwide polls. But control of the next Congress will depend on local voting for Senate seats in 33 states and for House seats in 435 different districts. Many races are so close that control of the Congress and Senate could depend on some last-minute development nobody's thought of before. Despite dwindling support nationwide, can President Bush still make a difference? Are the candidates addressing the issues their constituents want to hear about most? What are prospective voters seeing on TV? We take a look at some cliff-hangers around the country to see how local issues and circumstances might impact the outcome.

Fifteen people--including the Sheriff of Henry County and 12 deputies--have been arrested in western Virginia for selling drugs and guns confiscated from criminal suspects. The US Drug Enforcement Agency says the indictments are the result of a five-year investigation.